Since its inception 50 years ago Dawson Construction Limited has progressed with the times and today is one of the most highly-diversified construction companies in Canada.
Originally involved mainly in road construction, the company, in recent years has branched into all types of building but it still undertakes highway work and lists among its group of wholly-owned subsidiary company’s Dawco Mining Limited, formed to enable the parent firm to extend its services to the mining industry.
While Dawson was involved in many major jobs in the 1960s, many smaller and, at times, complicated road-building projects arose and company executives were quick to realize that with their large fleet of construction equipment they could become involved in the large strip mining operations.
Earth-moving and road building were the company’s specialties in the early years and Dawco Mining in the past three years has been cultivating this new source of revenue for the B.C.-owned company in order to keep its earth-moving equipment busy.
For the past 30 months Dawson has been working for Gibraltar Mines – first on the plant site development, then a tailings dam and now the stripping of two million cubic yards of over-burden to expose the ore body.
The company is also involved in the mining industry in the Yukon and Dawson Construction (Northern) Limited, with offices in Whitehorse, currently is involved in several major projects in the Territory.
One is the eight-mile paving job on the Klondike Highway, including the two-mile hill out of Whitehorse. There will be 23,000 tons of asphalt used on the job.
There is also a $610,000 job on the Keno Mine road and a $200,000 paving job in the townsite at Farro along with a $340,000 paving contract with the Department of Public Works at Watson Lake.
Other segments of the Dawson Group are also busy.
The Queen Charlotte Islands are a major point of interest this summer with a 100,000-ton paving job underway at Queen Charlotte City and Port Clements to Massett. Vice-president of operations, Barry Drummond, said a poor gravel supply and bad weather are the biggest problems facing the Dawson crews working in the area.
Eight miles of paving have just been completed on the Cariboo Highway at 150 Mile as well as an 80,000 ton job on the same highway from Clinton to Cache Creek.
Following the Clinton to Cache Creek job, another 80,000 tons of asphalt is scheduled for laying on the highway from Lytton to Lillooet
Another section of the highway near Yale will receive 40,000 tons of asphalt and the company has just completed a $600,000 contract on the Hope-Princeton Highway which called for 60,000 tons of asphalt.
Photo Caption: Dawson Construction (Northern) Limited’s operations near the Arctic Circle.